Hello, I'm loooking into getting a new laptop and am interested in getting the Gateway MT3707. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Gateway laptops and Ubuntu specifically how well the wireless cards work. If anyone has this particular model and has had experience with it it would be great to hear from you. Thanks!

Matthew

reckless2k2

May 24th, 2007, 01:35 PM

Post the wireless card specs of the laptop and it can quickly be found whether there will be any bumps along the road with wireless setups.

maniacmusician

May 24th, 2007, 01:38 PM

i asked the same question a while ago and heard that gateways are not too good for Linux.

Ideal linux-friendly vendors are Lenovo, System76 (of course), Dell, and I believe the fujitsu computers are linux-friendly as well.

MattSMiddleton

May 24th, 2007, 06:02 PM

I'm going to do some digging a little later on the wireless chipset it's using Gateway's site doesn't seem to list it. I'm not worried if it will take some work to get it up and running, I just don't want to buy into a laptop that will never be wireless. I guess I could always buy a card too, anyone know which cards are linux-friendly?

Quake

May 24th, 2007, 06:07 PM

.

reckless2k2

May 24th, 2007, 09:20 PM

You'll be able to get it running. It just depends on how easy the initial setup will be. There are many ways to get any card to work from ndiswrapper to a builtin module.

Andrewie

May 25th, 2007, 12:47 AM

I'm running a Gateway mx3410

1) my laptop sleeps and wakes up but the screen is blank
2) internal sound card doesn't work, I don't have sound ( :( its been almost a year)
3)wireless card is detected, it finds networks but I can't connect
4) its got a nvidia card so beryl is super easy to set up and works good

I believe there is forum has a thread to make the card work, so it does work.

The sound issue is annoying enough to keep me out of Linux (Music+Video+Programming+Star Craft is all I do)

I like the laptop looks pretty good, and its pretty strong but your main issue is going to be sound. If your card has a intel network card its going to be even easier, can you post the specs of that model?

to summarize: no sound, won't wake up from sleeping are my issues right now

maniacmusician

May 25th, 2007, 03:12 AM

I'm running a Gateway mx3410

1) my laptop sleeps and wakes up but the screen is blank
2) internal sound card doesn't work, I don't have sound ( :( its been almost a year)
3)wireless card is detected, it finds networks but I can't connect
4) its got a nvidia card so beryl is super easy to set up and works good

I believe there is forum has a thread to make the card work, so it does work.

The sound issue is annoying enough to keep me out of Linux (Music+Video+Programming+Star Craft is all I do)

I like the laptop looks pretty good, and its pretty strong but your main issue is going to be sound. If your card has a intel network card its going to be even easier, can you post the specs of that model?

to summarize: no sound, won't wake up from sleeping are my issues right now
I read: Gateway for Linux is really awful.

I exchanged some emails with Gateway customer service when I was looking at one of their computers, and their outlook towards Linux was basically "We don't care". If you want to get a Gateway laptop working, you'll have to use a lot of ugly hacks and workarounds which will most likely affect the stability of your system.

MattSMiddleton

May 25th, 2007, 04:37 AM

Thanks to everyone for your input, I'll probably end up going with another system, I'll let you know how it works out.

Matthew

steven8

May 25th, 2007, 05:29 AM

Go with a Dell Pre-Installed Ubuntu machine!!

MattSMiddleton

May 25th, 2007, 01:58 PM

I probably will eventually but seeing as how I can only pay w/cash as of right now (no checking or credit card set up yet) I'm probably going to get something retail and then in a little grab a Dell machine. I definitely want to support that effort, just kind of need a laptop now and don't have time to set up everything and wait for delivery.

Matthew

MattSMiddleton

May 25th, 2007, 03:09 PM

Looks like the Gateway I was looking at (MT3707) uses a RealTek 8185 Wireless chipset with is marked to work out of box w/6.06 and 6.10 so I'll let everyone know how it works out for me.

Andrewie

May 25th, 2007, 11:31 PM

Looks like the Gateway I was looking at (MT3707) uses a RealTek 8185 Wireless chipset with is marked to work out of box w/6.06 and 6.10 so I'll let everyone know how it works out for me.

my laptop has the same card

macogw

May 26th, 2007, 12:22 AM

i asked the same question a while ago and heard that gateways are not too good for Linux.

Ideal linux-friendly vendors are Lenovo, System76 (of course), Dell, and I believe the fujitsu computers are linux-friendly as well.

Not all Gateways have the same wireless cards. Get a Centrino (Intel cpu, chipset, and wireless), and it'll work out of the box (true for any company).

SFCampbell

June 2nd, 2007, 08:45 PM

I probably will eventually but seeing as how I can only pay w/cash as of right now (no checking or credit card set up yet) I'm probably going to get something retail and then in a little grab a Dell machine. I definitely want to support that effort, just kind of need a laptop now and don't have time to set up everything and wait for delivery.

Matthew

Matt you may be able to buy a Dell Ubuntu system over-the-counter at their local kiosks in many shopping malls. Also, I don't have any accurate information about the time frame but I have been told that Dell will soon be retailing their systems out of WalMart, so keep your eyes open.

Campbell

lsalminen

June 2nd, 2007, 08:57 PM

I have a Gateway MX3228 and it uses a Realtek RTL8185L wireless adaptor, and after I unblacklisted the drivers, the wireless worked right away.